metastasize

verb

me·​tas·​ta·​size mə-ˈta-stə-ˌsīz 

metastasized; metastasizing

intransitive verb

: to spread or grow by or as if by metastasis

died of lung cancer which had metastasized throughout his body

—G. P. Elliott

Examples of metastasize in a Sentence

Recent Examples on the Web

Mellencamp has been battling cancer since 2022 following a diagnosis of melanoma, which metastasized to her brain and lungs. —Michelle Lee, People.com, 16 May 2025

Endless rider anecdotes and media exposés highlighting safety, cleanliness, reliability and lack of interagency coordination have metastasized into a narrative of neglect that in turn discourages ridership and revenue. —Joe Ferguson, Chicago Tribune, 9 May 2025

The threat, of course, is that those pockets of weakness may metastasize. —Talmon Joseph Smith, New York Times, 2 May 2025

As a bonus for Moscow, the resulting tensions in the trans-Atlantic relationship may metastasize into an irreparable split between the United States and Europe. —Eric Green, Time, 30 Apr. 2025

Word History

First Known Use

1907, in the meaning defined above

Rhymes for metastasize

• actualize
• antagonize
• apologise
• apologize
• capitalize
• categorize
• characterize
• commercialize
• conceptualize
• contrariwise
• criminalize
• decentralize

Kids Definition

metastasize

verb

me·​tas·​ta·​size mə-ˈtas-tə-ˌsīz 

: to spread or grow by or as if by metastasis

Medical Definition

metastasize

intransitive verb

me·​tas·​ta·​size

variants also British metastasise

mə-ˈtas-tə-ˌsīz 

metastasized also British metastasised; metastasizing also British metastasising

: to spread by metastasis

… all ten were primary brain cancers; that is, they had originated in the brain, and not metastasized there from elsewhere in the body.

—Paul Brodeur, The New Yorker

metastasization noun

also British metastasisation

mə-ˌtas-tə-sə-ˈzā-shən